Director's Choice

Val Caniparolis The Seasons is a new ballet with some very old roots. Caniparoli reaches back to a score from 1899 by Alexander Glauzunov, originally written for Marius Petipathe architect of classical ballet style. Of course, modern choreographers scavenge from the past all the time, but in this case Caniparoli has adopted Petipas original scenario as well: a mildly silly thing full of nymphs and satyrs, as well as the traditional structure of a classical work, with its full hierarchy of corps, soloists, and principals. Rather than borrowing steps from other dance traditions, Caniparoli is digging into his own, crafting some impressive sequences, flashing and skimming across the space, and pulling out an unexpected series of historic quotations from iconic Russian works like Firebird and Afternoon of a Faun. (Also on the bill: Jiri Kylian's Petit Mort, Jerome Robbins West Side Story Suite, and Marco Goeckes Mopey.) SANDRA KURTZ